ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. - - The Wilmington University men's lacrosse team couldn't sustain its strong start against the 18th ranked Molloy team, falling 14-7 on Wednesday afternoon at the RVC Sports Complex.
Sophomore goalie Daniel Flynn set a new single game program record with 24 saves in the game, but the abundance of opportunities the Lions (3-1) had was too much for Flynn and the Wildcat (0-2) defense. Molloy outshot the Wildcats, 54-32, and controlled the ball more by winning the face-off battle, 20-4.
The Wildcats jumped out early on the Lions, getting a pair of goals from Josh West to take 1-0 and 2-1 leads. The Wildcats had other opportunities in the first quarter, but Lions netminder Christian Michaels made three stops to keep the Lions alive early. Then the Lions countered and scored back-to-back goals just 30 seconds apart late in the quarter, grabbing a 3-2 lead into the second.
Molloy carried the momentum into the second frame, scoring the first three goals in the opening three minutes to take a 6-2 lead. Carter Earl stopped the 5-0 run with his first of the game, but the Lions answered with back-to-back goals to regain an 8-3 lead. Earl scored his second of the quarter with 3:02 to play, the final goal of the half to make it an 8-4 deficit at the break.
The Wildcats didn't score until 1:51 remaining in the third as the Lions won the frame, 3-1, and took an 11-5 lead into the fourth. Molloy scored the opening goal of the fourth as well, taking their largest lead of the game, 12-5. Andrew Dzubak scored his second of the game and Josh West added his third of the game later in the fourth, but the Lions earned the 14-7 victory.
The 24 saves by Daniel Flynn were one more than Noah Given's 23 stops on March 7, 2018, at Chowan. Josh Weston led the attack with three goals and an assist for four points. Andrew Dzubak and Carter Earl each added two goals. Paul Army and Ryan McCrary led the defense with three ground balls each.
The Wildcats are set for their home opener with their next game, hosting #6 Pace on Saturday at the WU Athletics Complex. The opening face-off is set for 12:00 p.m.